


A New Home Town

by SerpentsInTheGarden



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Unplanned Pregnancy, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:54:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27181411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerpentsInTheGarden/pseuds/SerpentsInTheGarden
Summary: When Rory finds herself pregnant at sixteen, she runs away to Stars Hollow.
Relationships: Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore, Rory Gilmore/Jess Mariano
Comments: 6
Kudos: 75





	A New Home Town

Rory sat on her bed, and stared at the two pink lines.

This couldn’t be happening.

It had only happened once. _Once is all it takes_ , her mother’s voice spoke in the back of her mind.

Rory hadn’t planned to sleep with anyone, but Paris had, and Madeline, and Louise. It started to feel inevitable.

But man why did it have to be him?

If her family found out about this, they would want her to get married.  
What would her mom say? Rory fell back on her bed with a sigh. She was going to be so disappointed.

Rory’s eyes slid to the white dress hanging on her wardrobe. Her mother had spent the last month talking about how disappointed she had been when Lorelai had missed her own coming out.

At least she could hide it until after the cotillion.

The cotillion that Tristan was taking her to. She would blurt it out, and then he would.... What would he do? Throw a couple thousand at her to take care of it? Propose?

He was a first-boyfriend, not a husband. Not a father.

Rory glared at the ceiling.

She wouldn’t marry Tristan.

The sound of her moms heeled footsteps coming towards her room sent her heart pounding. She threw the test behind her nightstand. For the first time she was glad for the way the old floorboards creaked.

The polite knock came but her mother didn’t wait for an answer before opening it. “Are you ready for tonight?”

“Yup,” Rory forced a smile.

“And you know your routine? What am I saying? I’ve been to all your practices. You aren’t feeling too nervous, are you? I could have the maid make you some tea?”

“No, no. I’m fine. Completely fine— good, actually.”

“Good,” her mother eyed her, maybe noticing that her smile wasn’t genuine or that she couldn’t quite meet her eyes.

Rory fidgeted under her mother’s gaze when salvation came in the form of her big sister. Lorelai ran past their mother, and flung herself down on the bed, almost knocking Rory sideways. The entrance brought out a genuine smile.

“I had the worst flight. This guy in my row took his shoes off, and keep in mind it only goes downhill from there—”

“Lorelai Victoria Gilmore,” her mother cut in sharply, “we were not finished speaking.”

Lorelai sighed, a long suffering why-must-I-bear-this sigh that only Lorelai was capable of. “She gets it mom. She’ll be there on time. She’ll wear your dress. She’ll jump through the flaming hoop.”

Emily rolled her eyes upwards, before she walked away.

“So,” Lorelai looked back to Rory, “what’s been going on?”

For a moment she thinks she’ll tell the truth. If anyone was on her side unconditionally, it was Lorelai.

But whatever she said, Rory would agree with. Whether she told her to drop out of school and dedicate her future to this baby, or to hop in the Jeep and take a trip to the clinic.

Rory smiled. “Tests, parties, Paris’ college rants. Not much else really.”

Rory swayed on her feet. Maybe it was morning sickness or the thought of seeing Tristan in only a couple minutes, but she felt like passing out.

She slid down the wall, her white dress puffing up around her.

If she had to dance in circles she would definitely hack.

Her shoes pinched at her toes. Rory kicked them off, her shoulders slumped at the feeling of cold tiles against her feet.

She had to get through tonight. Then she could tell her family, and collectively break four hearts.

“You have to do this,” she said to the empty hallway. “It’s only one night.”  
Then she heard Tristan’s voice, just in the next room. Probably looking for her. Her stomach dropped.

She couldn’t do this.

“We should call the police,” Emily stormed into the living room.

“We’re not calling the police,” Lorelai slumped onto the couch. “She probably just got freaked out.” By you, she wanted to add. She had learned to bite her tongue after sixteen years.

Richard sat across from her. “Emily has a point.”

Lorelai raised her brows. “Oh?”

“It’s Rory. When has she ever been a flake? Especially about something so important to your mother.”

“She’s in the house somewhere. Probably reading Rand, or Twain, or—”

“Or she’s face-down in a ditch,” Emily chimed in.

“Oh my God,” Lorelai stood up and walked to the stairs. “Rory!” No answer. She turned on her heel and headed to the dining room, ignoring her father’s plead for her to sit back down. “Rory!” She was about the head to the kitchen when she saw a folded paper on the table. As she read over Rory’s neat handwriting her head begins to spin, the floor tipping under her feet.

“Lorelai? Lorelai...” Emily grabbed the note from her.

She’s gone.

Rory sat in the small diner, picking at a loose string on her sweater.

There had to be a hotel somewhere in this town. She could sleep tonight, and come up with a plan tomorrow.

“Kirk!” Rory flinched at the outburst, a man in a flannel shirt stood at a table near the door. “You can’t have that thing in here!”

A turtle crawled across the tabletop. Little, green, adorable, not something you’d want around your food.

“Are you trying to give the whole damn town salmonella?”

“He gets anxious when I leave him alone.”

Rory turned back to her coffee cup. She should probably cut back on caffeine now. Her shoulders slumped, the reality of her situation had set in while she was packing her bag. She would have a baby in eight months. A whole other person, completely dependent on her.

“Can I get you something?” Rory blinked. Flannel-man stood in front of her, looking less angry but far from cheery.

“Um... fries. And a cheese burger. Oh! And onion rings.”

“You already said fries.”

“Can I not get both?”

“You can, if you want to have a heartache at twenty-five.”

“Are restaurant owners supposed to say stuff like that to customers?” Not that it wasn’t a good point. Looking up healthy pregnancy foods could be another tomorrow-thing.

Something clattered in the kitchen.

He sighed. “It’ll be out in a minute.”

“Thank you!” She called as he walked away.

There was muffled yelling from the back. Something along the lines of what the hell is this? and not my fault!

She pulled a book from her bag, but couldn’t focus on the words in front of her.

When her food was set in front of her, she forgot the book completely and focused on stuffing her face. “Excuse me? Sir?”

“Luke.”

“Hm?”

“Call me Luke.”

“Luke,” she agreed, “is there any place around here to stay? Preferably without bed bugs.”

“Try the independence inn. It’s clean, but... a little expensive.” Concern shone on his face, an awkward not-my-business kind of concern, but genuine nonetheless.

“I’ve got money.”

He nodded. “You done?”

She nodded. Once he had disappeared back into the kitchen, she set a couple twenties on the counter and left.

The inn was clean. She wouldn’t mind staying for awhile, but her cash would run out fast at a hotel. What she needed was a cheap apartment, and a landlord that would let her pay cash. And wouldn’t ask for ID.

She took out her phone. Seven missed calls, five voicemails.

The first was her sister. Rory knew her better than anyone, and she could hear the fear in her voice. “ _Hey, as far as shock value goes, A plus work. Really. But if you could call me back. Tell me why you’re... why you left. That’d be great_.”

She blinked back tears, and ignored the lump in her throat. She played the next message.

Tristan’s voice was tight. Irritated. “ _Rory, where the hell are you? I’m standing here like an idiot, and everyone is asking where you are_ ,” he sighed. She could imagine him running his fingers through his hair, in his annoyed-but-tired way. “ _Call me back.”_

The next was her father. Richards voice was calm, simply asking her to get back as soon as possible, and assuring her he knew she had a good reason for missing the event.

Then her mothers voice came through the speaker. “ _Rory_ _Leigh_ _Gilmore_.” No tears, no concern, just tightly controlled anger. “ _If you aren’t home and in your bed by midnight, I will be filing a missing person’s report. Do you understand me?_ ”

She deleted them all.

It wasn’t her plan to worry everyone she loved. But she needed time, and space, to figure out how she wanted to handle it.

 _It_. Her hand came up to her midriff. The beginning of a whole person was inside her.

How could she make a decision about that once everyone put in their two cents?

First thing the next morning she made a to-do list.

And first on that list was to find a job.

She flipped through the town newspaper. Most of the jobs would require experience she didn’t have. When she got fed up with the paper, she went looking for her book. And didn’t find it.

Rory walked through the last twenty four hours in her head. The last place she remembered having it was the diner. Without further thought she headed out to retrieve it.

This wouldn’t be the worst place to stay, she realized. Even if it did resemble Pleasantville a bit too much.

Across the street Luke stood in front of a grocery store having a heated argument with the turtle-man. No chance she was getting in the middle of that.

The diner was a new place in the morning. Every table full of talking Stars Hollow citizens, she assumed anyway. Maybe this was one of those truck-stop towns that her mother warned her to avoid.

And, her book! The dark haired boy behind the counter was flipping through it. Before she could get to the counter he took a pencil from behind his ear and began writing. In her book. _He was writing in her book._

She marched up to the counter. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He looked up, brow pinched in annoyance. If Rory hadn’t been so focused on getting back her book she might’ve been intimidated by the severity of his look.

Slowly his face smoothed into something like boredom. “Reading. But if anyone else asks, working. ”

“I noticed,” Rory said, crossing her arms. “That is my book that you’re... defacing.”

“I wasn’t defacing anything. I was just putting some notes in the margins.”

“Notes?”

“Notes.”

Any residual rage was replaced by unwanted curiosity. Every once in awhile Rory hated that she couldn’t hold onto anger the way her mother and sister could.

“Just notes? No terrible jokes, or inappropriate drawings?”

“I could add some if you want.”

She held out her hand. “Book.”

He handed it over.

“You want something to eat, or did you come in here just to criticize my lack of vandalistic imagination?”

“Coffee. Decaf,” she added quickly. Her sister would be horrified.

He turned away from her, and she glanced inside her book. Neat handwriting, in pencil, at least he had some decency, now ran along the margins of The Portable Dorothy Parker. She snapped the book shut as he turned back to her.

“Anything else?” He asked as he slid the coffee to her.

“Nope. Unless you know some place around here that’s hiring?”

“Should ask Miss Patty, she—”

Before he could say more a man marched up to the counter in a huff. “Young man, do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?”

“Jeez, Taylor, keep it in your pants.”

The man sputtered for a moment. “Now that is no way to speak in front of a young lady.”

Diner-boy glared at Taylor’s back as he went back to his table.

“So, Miss Patty?”

He looked back to her. “Yeah, she’s...” he nodded at something over her shoulder. “She’s right there.”

Rory turned in her seat to see a red haired woman walk in. She was wearing a bright orange dress that her mother would’ve hated. Too loud, she could practically hear her scoff at it.

“Patty! You know anyone hiring right now?”

She smiled. “You threatening to quit again? If it didn’t work the last three times, I don’t think it’ll work now.”

“It’s not for me. It’s for...” he gestured vaguely at Rory, “her.”

“Oh! I never told you my name, that’s so rude,” she put on a polite smile, “I’m Rory.”

He smirked suddenly; her stomach twisted strangely. Maybe it was the morning sickness.

“Jess!” Luke walked into the diner. “This place is ninety percent windows, you think I can’t see that you haven’t moved in twenty minutes?”

Jess raised his brows, and tilted his head towards Rory. “I was trying to be helpful for once. But if it bothers you that much I won’t try it again.”

Luke blinked as he noticed her. “Oh, you.”

“Me,” she said weakly.

“I didn’t realize you were... talking,” he shot Jess a suspicious look that Rory didn’t understand.

Miss Patty cut in. “Y’know, The soda shop was hiring. Ain’t that right, Taylor?”

Taylor looked up, “I suppose. If you’re responsible, and have written permission from your parents of course.”

“My parents? But they’re... busy,” she finished lamely.

“Too busy to read and sign a one page consent form?”

For a moment she considered filling it out herself. But that was illegal, wasn’t it? Being a pregnant runaway felt like enough trouble without adding forgery charges.

“You could help out around here,” Luke said.

Rory looked to Luke. He knew. Well he didn’t _know_ , but he knew she wouldn’t be getting her parents permission for anything. “That would be good,” she agreed.

“You can’t just poach my prospective employees.”

Jess flashed a shark-like smile. “Well, Taylor, maybe if you weren’t such a pain someone would actually be working in that Willy Wonka hellscape.”

Jess watched Rory leave. His uncle had never been so flippant about new hires, which was why Cesar and him worked too much, and Jess had been waiting tables since he was thirteen.

Jess didn’t ask why she was different. Didn’t care about his uncle reasons. He just wanted to talk to her again.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn’t proof read this like at all so tell me if you see any typos


End file.
